The Rabbi and the Centerfold

Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: In the interest of full disclosure I should tell you that I am not against pornography but rather in favor of the erotic attraction of modesty, and a lot of my books deal with that....On the other hand, I do write books on sexuality and everything else so I have an open mind about all this, but I do come from a specific perspective, so I hope that you will not be offended with any of the questions that I ask. If you feel that some of the questions are unfair or somewhat hostile, by all means you can say you don't want to answer them. I have no interest in portraying you badly in this interview and I will not do that, but I am coming from the perspective that I articulated. Okay?

Lindsey Vuolo: Okay.

SB: Is it correct that you're the first Jewish Playmate?

LV: As far as I know, I'm the first Jewish Playmate to admit that I was Jewish. I think there might have been Playmates that were kind of half Jewish and just never really talked about it.

SB: Clearly you didn't have to be open about everything in your life for the interview [with Playboy that accompanied the pictorial], but you felt strongly that you wanted a Jewish empowerment in the interview [when you spoke about your experiences in Israel and displayed your bat mitzvah photo], is that correct?

LV: Actually, when I gave the interview to Playboy, they asked me what my religious beliefs were and when I said I was Jewish they kind of went with that and asked me questions about it and that's when my trip to Israel came up and, you know, what being Jewish means to me. I thought it was an important thing because it sets me aside. I know I'm different than a lot of the other Playmates being that I am Jewish.

SB: It seems that you are somewhat of a practicing Jew, is that correct?

LV: Yes.

SB: So what does that mean?

LV: I'm not Orthodox but I'm Conservative. I am practicing a lot more now since I'm away from home [at Indiana University of Pennsylvania] and that I'm getting older. It is kind of a concern of mine that, you know, I would possibly have a family and then not be able to read a service with my family for High Holy Days. But I mean, I practice the High Holy Days. There will still be times when I'll go to Friday night services, but being at school I don't usually go as often as I should.

SB: So in other words, you go to synagogue at least three times a year--